WolframAlpha and Goofram

Earlier this summer, I was at a sharing session at the ISTE conference in Denver. This "Web 2.0 Smackdown" gave people in the audience to share whatever they wanted (tech related) in two minutes or less. These two websites caught my eye: WolframAlpha and Goofram.

WolframAlpha - One of the main purposes is that it can solve math problems for you...or better yet, as one educator put it, “...rather than framing it as solving at WolframAlpha, maybe frame it as preparing for analysis?” I like that description a little better.

Seriously, try it out. Try a simple problem like $450 + 15% or a more difficult problem...for instance, something like, x^2 sin(x)...(I’m not sure really what that means).

Next look at the top of the page, click on “Examples” and chose your focus.

But that’s not all it does, it also can give you information about a specific date. Try typing your birthday in the search. Try a couple of cities. Type in a couple of stocks (like IBM and APPLE). Other fun things to try...type in your first name and another first name. You’ll get a comparison of both names.

For whatever it’s worth, try out WolframAlpha and see what you can discover.

Next, Goofram. This search engine actually incorporates Google, but also includes the WorlframAlpha results on the same page. The page is split into two sections, half with the Google results, half with the WolframAlpha results.

Try it out!


Here's an interview with the creator of WolframAlpha.  See what he uses at work and at home!